Page 210 - Lindsey Philpott "The Ultimate Book of Decorative Knots"

204 the ultimate book of decorative knots
CarriCk
The Carrick Bend (more properly known as a
Double Carrick Bend, but popularly now known
simply as a Carrick Bend) is familiar to sailors as a
knot for joining two same-diameter lines together.
In load-bearing applications the knot is generally
collapsed and does not show its beautiful side
quite as well as when it is left open. The Carrick
Bend is believed to have taken its name from the
carrack sailing vessel of the Atlantic Ocean and
Mediterranean Sea, used by the Portuguese in their
explorations of the world. These vessels, which
style included the Santa Maria used by Christopher
Columbus, the Mary Rose commissioned by Henry
VIII, and the Victoria, which was the first vessel
recorded to have circumnavigated the globe from
1 Form an overhand
clockwise loop, finishing
on the upper right.
2 insert your second
line under and parallel
to the end of your
first line.
3 Wrap over and then
under the first piece
of line with the
second, as shown
here.
and returning to Seville in Spain. Indeed, carracks
were the first cargo vessels used for Portuguese and
Spanish trading with India, Japan, and China.
The knot was first described in print in 1783 by
M. Lescallier, in Vocabulaire des Termes du Marine.
Alternatively, the knot may also have taken its name
from relief-work at Ormonde Castle in Carrick-
on-Suir in Tipperary, Ireland, or even from Carrick
Roads in Falmouth, UK. The knot is known by other
names, including the Josephine Knot in macramé
work, the Double Coin Knot in Chinese Knotting
(see Chapter 11), and the Wake Knot in heraldry.
Quite a history! Here is how to tie it, using either
a netting needle or a knittle to hold the rest of the
bundle of cord.
4 Pass the end of the second
line over, under, over. Pull
fairly tight but not so
much that it looks like
these two:
These two views of the
Carrick Bend show what
will happen with over-
enthusiastic tightening!